Wednesday, April 3
Collins Family Softball Complex
5:00 p.m.
Tulsa
vs
Missouri State
Golden Hurricane Welcomes Missouri State for Midweek Matchup
4/2/2024 5:18:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa softball team plays host to Missouri State at the Collins Family Softball Complex on Wednesday evening before a weekend trip in Wichita, Kan.
First pitch against the Bears is set for 5 p.m. and the game will stream live on the TulsaHurricane.com website.
The Hurricane (22-11, 8-4 AAC) and Missouri State (8-21, 4-7 MVC) meet for the 51st time in a series the Bears lead 27-23. Tulsa trails the series 9-12 at home but have won four of the past five games in the Collins Family Softball Complex. The Bears have won three straight in the series, including a 5-2 game last season in Springfield, Mo.
After picking up a weekend sweep at home against UAB, the Hurricane has improved to 22-11 on the season. Tulsa hit .316 as a team over the weekend, which matches its season batting average. Senior left fielder MacKenzie Denson continues to hit above .400 on the season, leading the team with a .425 batting average while drawing seven walks and striking out just six times, second lowest among TU starters. Shortstop Imani Edwards has the fewest strikeouts at four. She's slashing .402/.422/.570, which puts her in the top three of each category.
Edwards picked up The American Player of the Week honors for her performance against UAB over the weekend. The senior batted .600 with a 1.000 slugging percentage in three games. She had two hits each game, homered and doubled once, drove in three and scored five times.
All three of Tulsa's primary pitching staff have an ERA below 3.00. Senior Kylee Nash holds a 2.18 ERA through 54.1 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .227 off her in 2024. Over the weekend, she collected a pair of wins, coming in to aid in Tulsa's comeback win on Thursday and starting and tossing 4.1 innings on Saturday. Nash is now 7-2 this year. Anneca Anderson picked up a win against the Blazers and Is 7-1 on the season. She has held opposing batters to a .188 average against her and has struck out 54 batters. Junior Maura Moore has tossed the most innings, throwing 85.0 so far. She leads the teams with 70 strikeouts and has five complete games and two complete game shutouts.
The Bears have not played up to their usual standards this season, equaling their most losses since 2019, when the team finished 30-21. The Bears haven't had a losing season in a full year since 2017. However, Missouri State picked up a series win last week at home against Murray State. After dropping the first game, the Bears bounced back to win 8-2 and 2-0. Most of Missouri State's wins have come at home, as the Bears are 2-8 in road contests.
Kayla Ulrich leads a pair of Bears batting above .300. She's averaging .373 at the plate, while Abby Ford is hitting .314. Annie Mueller is batting .268, but what she lacks in average she makes up in power with six home runs and 21 driven in, well and away the leader in both categories. She also has the lone Missouri State triple this year.
Gracie Johnston and Mackenzie Chacon shoulder the majority of the load in the circle. Johnston has tossed 77.0 innings and Chacon has spun 64.2. Batters are hitting .289 off the Bears pitching staff this season, and Johnston has struck out 37 batters while Chacon has sat down 30.
After the weekend series, the Golden Hurricane will travel to Wichita to take on the Wichita State Shockers in a weekend series. All three of the games will air on ESPN+ starting with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday.
First pitch against the Bears is set for 5 p.m. and the game will stream live on the TulsaHurricane.com website.
The Hurricane (22-11, 8-4 AAC) and Missouri State (8-21, 4-7 MVC) meet for the 51st time in a series the Bears lead 27-23. Tulsa trails the series 9-12 at home but have won four of the past five games in the Collins Family Softball Complex. The Bears have won three straight in the series, including a 5-2 game last season in Springfield, Mo.
After picking up a weekend sweep at home against UAB, the Hurricane has improved to 22-11 on the season. Tulsa hit .316 as a team over the weekend, which matches its season batting average. Senior left fielder MacKenzie Denson continues to hit above .400 on the season, leading the team with a .425 batting average while drawing seven walks and striking out just six times, second lowest among TU starters. Shortstop Imani Edwards has the fewest strikeouts at four. She's slashing .402/.422/.570, which puts her in the top three of each category.
Edwards picked up The American Player of the Week honors for her performance against UAB over the weekend. The senior batted .600 with a 1.000 slugging percentage in three games. She had two hits each game, homered and doubled once, drove in three and scored five times.
All three of Tulsa's primary pitching staff have an ERA below 3.00. Senior Kylee Nash holds a 2.18 ERA through 54.1 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .227 off her in 2024. Over the weekend, she collected a pair of wins, coming in to aid in Tulsa's comeback win on Thursday and starting and tossing 4.1 innings on Saturday. Nash is now 7-2 this year. Anneca Anderson picked up a win against the Blazers and Is 7-1 on the season. She has held opposing batters to a .188 average against her and has struck out 54 batters. Junior Maura Moore has tossed the most innings, throwing 85.0 so far. She leads the teams with 70 strikeouts and has five complete games and two complete game shutouts.
The Bears have not played up to their usual standards this season, equaling their most losses since 2019, when the team finished 30-21. The Bears haven't had a losing season in a full year since 2017. However, Missouri State picked up a series win last week at home against Murray State. After dropping the first game, the Bears bounced back to win 8-2 and 2-0. Most of Missouri State's wins have come at home, as the Bears are 2-8 in road contests.
Kayla Ulrich leads a pair of Bears batting above .300. She's averaging .373 at the plate, while Abby Ford is hitting .314. Annie Mueller is batting .268, but what she lacks in average she makes up in power with six home runs and 21 driven in, well and away the leader in both categories. She also has the lone Missouri State triple this year.
Gracie Johnston and Mackenzie Chacon shoulder the majority of the load in the circle. Johnston has tossed 77.0 innings and Chacon has spun 64.2. Batters are hitting .289 off the Bears pitching staff this season, and Johnston has struck out 37 batters while Chacon has sat down 30.
After the weekend series, the Golden Hurricane will travel to Wichita to take on the Wichita State Shockers in a weekend series. All three of the games will air on ESPN+ starting with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday.
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